Critic Reviews

MobyRanks are listed below. You can read here for more information about MobyRank.

100

This Is My Joystick

Retribution is the best entry in the Dawn of War II series by far. It is an excellent package with a huge number of modes and races to play with. I thoroughly recommend it as despite its shortcomings in the standard multiplayer department, the campaign and Last Stand more than make up for it.

Retribution stays the course and all the modifications introduced doesn’t hurt the series in any shape or form. This expansion is certainly geared towards satisfying long-time fans instead of bringing new people into the mix as the story will be lost on those unfamiliar with the lore. On the other hand, if you’re just looking for a fun multiplayer RTS experience, then you won’t be disappointed.

Dawn of War 2 – Retribution is a great strategy game, and at its price point of $30 there’s simply no excuse not to pick it up if you’re a fan of the series or have been curious to check it out. It makes warfare into something violently beautiful, and pays homage to the nerdy lore that Warhammer fans like me can’t get enough of.

For those who never played a Warhammer 40K : Dawn of War 2 title, Retribution is a very good introduction, giving access to all six factions and an improved multiplayer mode, from a technical standpoint. For the veterans, however, the novelties may be a bit too superficial and the campaigns may disappoint those who appreciated Chaos Rising.

But, aside from making me feel a sense of inadequacy about my very expensive and powerful PC, the stuttering is a pretty minor quibble. For a standalone expansion pack, Retribution does pretty much everything right; it has a ton of content, and it makes that content more accessible and more fun than it was in DoW2, although it's still probably not going to appeal to gamers who are fans of a more traditional, gather-build-rush RTS formula. If you liked DoW2, but just couldn't get all those achievements you're dying for, you'll be pleased with the changes they've made here. If you didn't like DoW2, what the hell are you doing reading this? Do you just love me and my writing that much!?

Should you buy Retribution? It really depends. Are you a fan of either the previous games or the tabletop game on which they're based? If so, then chances are, you will enjoy this entry enough to justify the modest $30 price tag. For those new to the franchise, however, I would advise getting Dawn of War 2 instead, which is by far the better experience and often cheaper, as well.

And there's the trade-off: the tight, narrative flow of Chaos Rising may be gone, but in its place, there's enormous diversity, and more toys than you could possibly hope for in a £20, standalone expansion. To top it off, multiplayer now works solely through Steam, so no more NAT-bothering nonsense from GFWL. And if that's not The Emperor's justice, I don't know what is.

It may have its fair share of bugs and be light on new features, but thanks to a nice set of tweaks and some cool new additions, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution is easily the best of the series yet. It's great for fans yet it's also accessible. It's simply the standard for the Dawn of War fan.

Aside from a few niggling bugs that do mar the experience at several crucial moments, Retribution is a fantastic investment for both existing Dawn of War fans and curious RTS gamers looking to get into the series. While light on tutorials, even a total newbie will find themselves comfortably zipping over hotkeys, demolishing waves of enemies in no time.

At this point, Retribution feels like it could very well be the last entry in the Dawn of War II series, with the changes made helping to only really keep the series feel fresh to those who have put in some considerable time into the previous entries. A stand-alone game this comes highly recommended to fans of the series, whilst newcomers would be better served starting with the first game. In it sub-sector Aurelia was still in turmoil, and even though the campaign focussed solely on the exploits of the Space Marines, the story made a lot more sense. Well, as much sense as planetary warfare between space orks, and space marines can make.